


Samathna Arias: A Heroine's Revival

by v_i_o_l_e_t_s



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Grief, Happy Ending, I may bring back Bizzaro, I write disaster fics ONLY, M/M, Mon El is mentioned but gone, Okay this is kind of just a mess if I'm honest, Some Fluff, agnst, kinda OOC, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 10:10:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15168416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/v_i_o_l_e_t_s/pseuds/v_i_o_l_e_t_s
Summary: Instead of Sam Arias surviving and moving away to live happily ever after, she's transported, with Commiegirl, far, far away, leaving only ashes. Presumed dead and confused, she wakes up, in the snow, next to Commiegirl while, back in National City, everyone else is coping with a new situation involving Ruby Arias--Sam's daughter.





	1. Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo! I ignore pieces of canon I don't like, but the changes are kind of just accepted as fact. If you're confused, feel free to comment. Hope you enjoy!

“Sam Arias was a hero,” Supergirl began from behind a podium. She looked down, cleared her throat, glanced off to the side at her sister, and continued, “but Reign was a part of her.” 

There was a collective gasp at that, and many people looked at each other, bewildered that L Corp's late employee was Reign. 

Speaking of L Corp, its CEO was standing next to a blank-faced Ruby Arias, whom was waiting to tell the crowd more about her mother to help them understand. Lena, for her part, was trying her best to prepare the orphaned preteen by whispering reassuring words to her. That act probably did more to make the crowd believe that Lena Luthor was somehow involved in the whole situation than anything else, but Ruby appreciated Lena's attempts. 

Supergirl had paused to let that statement have impact, and she spoke again now, “Sam Arias was my personal friend, whom I met through my involvement with L Corp and its CEO.” Supergirl cleared her throat and looked down again, exhaling quickly quickly in an attempt to stem the tears she could feel building up. She continued, words filled with passionate feeling, “but she was also a being of my home planet’s creation. It wasn't her fault that she had this--this thing--buried inside of her. She couldn't have known--and didn't--until Lena figured it out. Reign had already begun attacking, sending me into a coma before anyone managed to capture her. But Lena told Sam, and Sam willingly let herself be experimented on to find a cure. She was so heartbroken at finding out that she hurt people that, when she and Reign were split in two, she told me that she wasn't afraid to die because at least those she wronged would get justice. She'd only regret leaving Ruby. She blamed herself for not knowing sooner, for having to be told.” 

The crowd was respectfully silent as Supergirl wiped a tear she couldn't keep from falling down her cheek. 

Supergirl looked up toward the sky, wobbling lips pulled into a sad smile. “Right now she's probably up there looking down on us, watching me make a fool of myself on her behalf. Oh, Roa, I may not have known her that long in the grand scheme of things, but she was good and didn't deserve this,” she said, voice strained. She looked back down over the crowd, shocked to see others in tears as well. “Ruby Arias, her daughter, will speak next in honor of her mother.” she finished and stepped back to stand next to Lena and Alex, using her cape to wipe at her tears. 

Ruby, poor Ruby, stepped up to the podium with a frown and puffy eyes. “Sam Arias was a good mother. You all may not believe that she could have been, knowing what you do, but she was. Until Reign started popping up, she was the best. And I guess that is the big thing--until. Every bad person is always good until they do something wrong, but you have to understand that Reign was not who my mother was. Reign was--the best metaphor I have is a demon possessing a host who is unaware. The demon takes over, and the host has no fucking clue,” Ruby said and laughed. “My mom would have been mad at me for saying the f word under normal circumstances, but, if she could see me right now, I think that she'd understand. Because--I can't stress this enough--my mother couldn't control Reign, not completely. It was a final act of self sacrifice that saved us all. She's a hero for what she did. She can't be remembered as Reign because Reign was a demon who took someone compassionate and kind and twisted her into a monster,” Ruby continued.

The crowd was so silent that the only sounds were the twittering of the birds and far-off car noises. 

Lena stepped forward as Ruby's grief seemed to overwhelm her, causing Ruby to sob as she stood. Lena wrapped an arm around her and guided her over to Alex, whom held her in much the same way as Lena returned to the podium. “I will now be fielding questions on the life and death of Samantha Arias,” Lena spoke into the microphone quietly. 

A young reporter raised his hand, and a microphone was handed to him. “How exactly did Sam save us all. That's what Miss Arias claimed, correct?” the man asked. 

“Supergirl, was there. I'll have her answer this question,” Lena replied stepping only a little bit to the side so she could resume her position shortly. 

Supergirl stopped up to the podium and cleared her throat. “Samantha Arias and Reign were split apart. Our original plan was to kill Reign so that Sam could live. We found out that their lives were connected and shifted to a plan B that entailed capturing Reign, but we didn't even know if it were possible again as Reign had built an immunity to kryptonite. Samantha Arias found Reign and was engaging her in a battle with temporary kryptonite powers before we could tell her that their lives were connected. I, my colleague, and a government agent arrived on scene to find Sam yelling, asking Reign why she wasn't trying to kill her. As I was trying to reason with Reign, Sam realized why Reign wasn't trying to kill her, grabbed the gun of the agent, which was loaded with kryptonite bullets, and shot herself in the head. This act killed them both,” Supergirl said, voice shaking. Kara stepped back from the podium and resumed her position next to Alex and Ruby, wiping at silent tears with her cape. 

Lena stepped back up to the podium, finally seeming to be choked up, having to clear her throat as she pointed at the next reporter. 

“What will be done with Reign’s remains?” the reporter asked, seeming not to understand that that question might be insensitive. 

“Both Sam Arias’s and Reign’s deaths caused them to turn into ashes, so, Reign's ashes will be turned over to the city. The mayor tells me that he plans to hold a celebration of Reign's demise, using her ashes in the making of a statue that will be the centerpiece of said event,” Lena replied, just barely managing to not let her sadness seep into her voice. 

Another hand shot up, and the person was given a microphone. “What will be done in regard to honoring Samantha Arias?” the reporter questioned. 

“L Corp will be hosting a fundraiser for The National City Teen Pregnancy Help Center. Samantha Arias felt that this was an important cause, but she never got the chance to do all she wanted for it. L Corp is also commissioning a memorial outside of L Corp that will be open to the public, so they can mourn, if they wish, without disturbing her private grave,” Lena answered. 

Had anyone else asked another question, Lena would have certainly replied, but Supergirl was suddenly in front of Lena. A second later, a bullet pierced skin and Supergirl was toppling over. Alex rushed over, alerting the DEO to send out a team in the few seconds it took her to take the weight of Supergirl, whose muscular frame was slowly causing a slim but far from lean Lena Luthor to lower them both toward the ground. Lena, free from Kara's weight, rushed over to Ruby as she was rushing toward Lena. 

A second shot rang out and Ruby gasped, inches away from Lena as she fell forward. 

“No!” Lena screamed, catching the girl in her arms. She lowered her gently to the ground and removed the blazer she wore over her signature blouse and pencil skirt. She folded it and pressed it to the wound on Ruby's stomach, knowing that the greatest risk here was bleeding out. 

Ruby seemed to be in shock, staring at the overcast sky, wheezing air in and out of her lungs. 

“The team got the sniper,” Alex called out from her position a few feet away. The sound of Supergirl's laboured breathing was loud enough that it almost overshadowed her voice. Lena cursed to herself, realizing that that might mean the bullet had gone through the lung. 

“I don’t care. I'd rather be Swiss cheese than wait for another minute. Are they on their way over here, Alex?” Lena bit back. 

Alex, in a subdued but still loud voice, answered, “They're on their way.”

Lena turned her attention back to Ruby.

“It’s going to be fine, Ruby,” she assured her in a steady voice. In truth, she was freaking the fuck out. Not only did her best friend get shot, but the kid that she was taking care of also got shot. It didn't matter that the kryptonite probably didn't affect her. Someone shot a fucking child--an orphan who just lost her damn mother. 

“Why do you look so angry?” Ruby asked in a voice that was probably supposed to joking, but Lena, in her current state, didn't catch that. 

“Someone shot you Ruby, of course I'm fucking angry. I'm supposed to take care of you!” she whisper yelled. She was out in the open, but she still felt the need to be quiet. The park area was weirdly silent, and it felt wrong to disturb that. 

Alex was in a similar position with Supergirl, but she blurt out suddenly, “Fuck it!” and removed the pressure. 

“Alex!” Lena yelled, looking over, alarmed.

“The team is taking too long! The kryptonite will kill her before they can get her back to the DEO” Alex replied. She whipped out a knife. Alex widened the hole in Supergirl's suit with her knife. She briefly fretted having nothing to clean her hands with before sticking her fingers into the wound. Kara cried out in pain. “I'm going to get the bullet out, Kara. It'll be okay,” she assured. Supergirl’s breathing got heavier as Alex dug around some more. She grabbed a hold of the bullet a second later and pulled it out triumphantly, only to discover that half of the kryptonite tip was missing. 

“Shit!” Lena shouted. 

Alex glanced over as she reapplied pressure while she thought. “What?” she asked. 

“Something's happening to Ruby. She--I don't know what happened. She's getting weaker, but she hasn't lost that much blood,” Lena replied quickly, sounding perplexed. 

Alex's eyes widened with a realization. “No,” she whispered. “Lena, get the bullet out,” Alex demanded. 

Lena looked up at her, about to ask her why, but she saw how serious she was, how wide her eyes were. She removed the pressure and stuck her fingers into the wound.

Ruby cried out. 

“Sorry!” Lena apologized as she got the bullet out of the wound, only to discover that a piece of the tip was broken off. She chucked the thing far away. She reapplied pressure. 

Alex yelled, “Why'd you throw it?” The bullet she took out of Kara was in a small, lead lined pocket she had on her person designed for situations like this. 

“What else was I supposed to do, Alex?” Lena snapped as she looked down at an almost delirious Ruby. 

“I'm sorry. It's the stress,” she replied. 

“How do you think I feel, Danvers?” she questioned in a tired voice.

Before either could speak again, two DEO vans drove over the curb of the park and toward the stage, sliding to a halt beside it. Agents spilled out, taking Supergirl and Ruby into separate vans. Lena forced herself into Ruby's van while Alex hopped into the back off Kara's. 

~~~

Ruby was not having a good day. Of course, there was the whole press conference where she had to defend her dead mother and all that, but she just got shot. And then, the bloody wound started to burn like hell. And Alex and Lena were giving her a headache with their arguing, but Ruby chalked that up to the tension caused by a night they both regretted that she was not supposed to know about. If she got out of this alive, she was just going to tell them to talk about it before they grew so far apart that Kara had to split time between them more than she already did. 

“Her stats are dropping! Step on it Agent Clyde!” An agent yelled, and she felt like it was right in her ear. 

She let out a faint whine, half-heartedly trying to reach her hands up to cover her ears, but, being blocked by gurney straps, her hands just kind of flapped gently. 

Lena--Lena!--spoke up, “She has kryptonite in her system. A little bit of the bullet broke off.” 

“Why would that matter?” a male agent asked. 

“I don't fucking know,” Lena paused to decide upon a random name to give him,” Hal. Maybe her mom had Kryptonian DNA hidden in her genome. Did it ever occur to you that she inherited a kryptonite allergy? Because it took Agent Danvers about two minutes to figure that out. I'm convinced she's the smartest of you. Supergirl would have been dead if not for her taking the situation into her own hands. Ruby Arias, the only living Arias, would be dead without her, too.” Lena seemed to be not coming down from an adrenaline high but going further into one as people continued to irritate her. 

Everyone fell into a stunned silence. 

“It's about damn time someone appreciated Danvers. Hell yeah,” a voice said over the car radio. 

“Vasquez if you don't--” one of the agents, the one in the passenger seat, started. 

“If I don't what, Lakeview?” she interrupted. 

The van, again, fell into silence. 

“Berty, I lost the wound,” the male agent said. 

“What?” Agent Berty replied. 

“I lifted the pressure to replace the gauze I was using, and it's… gone,” he replied. 

“One, you never lift the fucking pressure, you idiot. Two, move over,” Berty demanded, replacing the guy beside Ruby and forcing him to squish himself against the door of the van. 

Lena smirked to herself, if only for the fact that the annoying man was uncomfortable and that she had the full left bench. 

“What the fuck!” Agent Berty exclaimed, thin eyebrows shooting up comically high. 

“The kryptonite is still in her. What do we do?” Lena asked, leaning over what they were looking at--flawless skin in place of Ruby's bullet wound. 

Ruby coughed as if to highlight the importance of removing the rock before lodged into somewhere dangerous. 

“Her vitals are leveling out, Ms. Luthor. It's not enough to kill her. We'll remove it when we have real medical equipment,” she replied. 

“How confident are you that this decision will not be the death of her? Because I am sure that, if it is, it will be the death of you, Agent Berty,” Lena grit out. She couldn't lose Ruby, not when she'd just lost Sam.

Agent Berty, who most knew as a sort of steely, no nonsense woman, actually looked terrified as she considered what Lena said. “If I try now, she could bleed out. We don’t know if she has closer to Kryptonian biology, if we can cut her skin, or where the fragment went. We're almost there, Ms. Luthor. Ruby will be just fine,” Agent Berty assured her. 

As Lena looked into the sincere eyes of the agent, she understood how she was being illogical, and the adrenaline seemed to drain out of her body. She was left with an intense sense of guilt. She reached out and held one of Ruby's hands the rest of the way to the DEO. 

~~~

Supergirl shot up on her sun bed and hit her head. “Ow!” she exclaimed as she fell back on it. 

Agent Vasquez woke up. She'd been keeping a watch over Kara after they got the pieces removed from both Kara and Ruby, and Alex and Lena stayed with Ruby to talk to her. They'd figured that Supergirl would either sleep long enough that it'd be like they were never gone or that Supergirl would be okay as long as she knew the others were okay. Ruby was an orphaned child and needed more support. 

So that's how a sleepy Vasquez ended up tossing an ice pack to a pouting Kryptonian that resembled a puppy far too much for her liking. 

“Cold!” Kara yelled and nearly dropped the thing. 

Vasquez snorted and plopped herself back down in her chair. “Everyone is okay,” Vasquez said before Kara could ask. 

Supergirl nodded, a sad little half smirk on her face as she held an ice pack to the red bump on her forehead. “Everyone used to include more people,” she said. It wasn't really a reply, more of an observation. 

“Damn, I'm sorry. Ruby is fine. She got out of surgery no problem after they figured out her skin went all krypto. Lena and Alex are a little traumatized but overall fine,” Vasquez amended. 

“Ruby got out of what?” Kara demanded. 

“Oh, you didn't know about that?” Vasquez asked, “My bad.” 

Supergirl slid out from under the sun lamps, abandoning her ice pack. 

Vasquez sighed and got up. “You should be resting, blah, blah, blah,” Vasquez drawled and walked over to Supergirl. Supergirl slung the arm on her bad side over Vasquez’s shoulder, and they set off to find Ruby. 

~~~

“Ruby, I'm so sorry,” Lena apologized as soon as Ruby's eyes opened. 

Ruby ignored her in favor of looking around the room. “This isn't a hospital,” she observed. 

“You're at the DEO,” Alex said, and Ruby seemed to just notice her. 

Ruby opened her mouth to say something, but Supergirl and Vasquez appeared at the door. 

“Ruby! Are you okay?” Kara asked, appearing to want to rush over to her but having to walk slowly alongside Vasquez. 

“Vasquez, I told you to keep her in one spot,” Alex reprimanded. 

“She was concerned about Ruby,” Vasquez defended, guiding Supergirl to the seat on the left of the bed. 

Alex, who'd been standing the entire time, sighed and pushed off the wall. She ran her hands over her face. “I'm sorry, Vasquez. I know how she can be,” she apologized. 

If Supergirl were not fretting over Ruby, she might have taken offense at that comment. 

“So, Kara, do you have any clue what is happening to Ruby?” Lena asked. 

Vasquez held in a laugh at the look on Alex's face. 

Ruby looked at Supergirl with what seemed to be a new outlook on the world. “But Kara is so clumsy, and you're--you're--you!” she objected. 

Supergirl seemed to take Ruby and Lena knowing rather well, giving a light-hearted chuckle. “It's an act. One you’ll have to know soon,” Supergirl explained. 

Lena was taken aback, Ruby was excited, Alex was cautious, and Vasquez was beyond amused as what Kara said seemed to dawn on them. 

“Two Kryptonians wandering around National City? Bad guys better beware,” Vasquez joked. 

“How could this happen? I thought my mom didn't have full Kryptonian DNA, just Reign,” Ruby questioned, the mention of her mother bringing the overall mood down a peg or two. 

“It's possible that, because she had Kryptonian powers--Kryptonian DNA--when she died, her death locked in that change, giving it to Ruby,” Alex explained. 

Everyone was quiet, made uncomfortable by the thought that Ruby only had powers because her mother was dead. 

Vasquez cleared her throat and spoke, “Uh, I'll go now. This seems like family business.” She left out the door, accidentally slamming her shoulder against the door jamb, grunting, and continuing on. 

“She should have stayed. Now I'm stuck with a couple of estranged adoptive mothers and Krypto minus the superpowers,” Ruby complained, groaning. 

“Krypto?” Kara asked at the same time Alex defended, “We’re not estranged.”

Ruby addressed Kara first in a kind voice, “That's what some of my friends call you because it's short for Kryptonian and it kind of sounds like the name of a golden retriever.” 

Kara laughed. “I was thinking of getting a dog. Maybe I'll borrow the name,” she replied. 

Ruby turned to Alex next. “You two had some weird night together and haven't been the same since. Talk it out for the sake of my sanity, please,” she said. 

Alex sputtered and denied, “We did not have a we--”

“I kissed Alex,” Lena blurted. 

“What?” Kara exclaimed, way too upset for someone who had insisted that she only liked men. 

“And you're involved somehow? Great,” Ruby said, huffing and crossing her arms.

“Kara's internalized biphobia aside,” Alex began. 

“Hey!” Kara protested. 

“Lena did kiss me. And then never explained anything. I've been waiting for an explanation, so you can blame her,” Alex finished.

“Can you two act like adults for three seconds? Alex, you could have asked her,” Ruby insisted. 

“Ruby, it's fine. She's just frustrated,” Lena defended. 

“Doesn't explain her acting like a little bitch,” Ruby muttered and rolled her eyes when Kara gasped. 

Alex sighed. “I'm not setting a very good example. I'm sorry. You're right, Ruby. Lena, let's go talk this out somewhere else. I don't want Kara to blow a fuse,” Alex replied and pushed off the wall, exiting the room. 

Kara pouted but stayed silent as Lena got up to follow her sister.

“Don’t worry, Kara, Lena doesn't like your sister like that,” Ruby assured her. 

“I don't care,” Kara replied in an attempt at an aloof tone that ended up making her sound more upset than anything else. 

~~~

Lena and Alex walked down the hallway a little ways until they were pretty much alone.  
“I'm sorry I've been such a jackass. It's not like me, and I can't help but feel like I've made the whole situation worse,” Alex said. 

“I'm sorry that I didn't say anything sooner, Alex. I was scared that your reaction to what I'd say would be worse than the tension and the silence, but I should have considered your feelings,” Lena returned, lacing her hands together in front of herself. 

Alex ran a hand through her hair and let out a puff of air. “Well, I'm ready to listen, so I guess we'll find out,” she said. 

“I like your sister. You--you probably knew that or had some vague idea of it. But you probably didn't know that Kara doesn't know that I'm a lesbian,” Lena began, pausing to let that sink in. 

“Oh, Lena. Why haven't you told her?” Alex asked. 

Lena sighed. “She has no problem with your being gay because you're her sister, so you're no threat to her. What if she thinks I'm creepy? I guess my fear of that is kind of why I kissed you--because you like women. You're the closest thing to Kara, and you like women. I shouldn't have, though. You're still hung up on Maggie, and I don't even see you that way. What I mean is I'm really sorry for what I've put you through. You don't even know how sorry, not that that makes up for any of it,” Lena confessed, twisting a ring around her middle finger. 

Alex smiled. “You're a hot, gay mess, aren't you Luthor?” is all Alex said in reply before opening her arms up for a hug that Lena rushed into. 

They stood there for a few seconds before they both pulled away. 

“So, what are you going to do, Lena?” Alex asked. 

“Well, I don't really know. James and Winn are together now. Lucy moved in with Diana, and Mon El can never return. She doesn't really have any dating options in her friend group, and most of them are with members of the same gender. I think it may have shaken her up a little. She thinks she has to be the token straight friend. I'm not sure my telling her I'm gay will help any of that,” Lena admitted, hand coming up to toy with the necklace she was wearing. Kara said it had been her mother's. She'd given it to her after the whole Sam situation had settled, citing that she wanted to make sure Lena knew that she was appreciated. 

Alex considered that for a moment. “I know my sister. She's dealing with this in her own way, but it's not going to be easy for her. When she got to Earth, I could tell she treated guys and girls the same. She had crushes on girls and guys that she would gush about with equal enthusiasm, but I didn't realize they were crushes until she came to me crying one night about how the girl she liked at school had called her creepy and disgusting for saying she could have a wife in a discussion about future spouses. When I bring it up, she chalks her teenage bisexuality up to Krypton being so open, but accepting straight girls don't get crushes on other girls. They don't cry for weeks over the end of a friendship and change their behavior to avoid getting hurt again. Kara will realize that in her own time, but she saw homophobia for the first time and shut down. I don't know why it's taking her so long to accept herself, having come from Krypton, but we have to respect it,” Alex said and sighed. 

“Do you think my telling her my sexuality will help?” Lena asked. 

“If we're right and she's suffering from internalized biphobia and repressing her feelings for you, then yes. I think it'll make her see that it's okay for her to like you if she knows you're gay. Obviously, it's okay to have curses on straight people as long as you're respectful, but she may not be seeing that,” Alex replied. 

“Thank you, Danvers,” Lena said, putting a hand on Alex's crossed arms. 

Alex smiled, and the two walked back to Ruby. 

~~~

“Alex!” Ruby exclaimed and swung her legs over the bed. 

Kara grumbled about how Ruby didn't seem to be by worse for wear from the whole incident while Kara's bullet wound was only half healed. 

“Ruby! Lena and I have a question for you,” Alex replied. 

Ruby stopped a foot from the duo, ignoring the still-moping Kryptonian in the background. “What is it?” she asked. 

“Well, we were wondering if we could run some tests on you to see what your capabilities are,” Alex answered. 

“Hell yeah!” she agreed. 

“Language,” Lena reprimanded. 

Ruby gave her a “I'll say it” look, and Lena sighed. 

Supergirl got up. “Well, this is something I have to see. Can't have you breaking my records without my being there to defend myself,” she joked. 

Ruby smiled. 

Alex lead the way and supported Supergirl as the four made their way to the lab.


	2. Curiosity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Commiegirl and Sam get up to some glacial shenanigans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little short, but it'll be worth it! Probably

For one brief, glorious moment, Samantha Arias thought that she was lying in bed under her covers. After that second, everything that happened to Sam came rushing back, and she shot up into a sitting position, causing the person next to her to groan. 

She looked down and them--her--and scrambled away. Why the fuck was she lying in the snow with Kara Danvers. Sam accidentally left the the cape behind--Reign’s cape--and realized that she--herself--was naked.

What Sam was unaware of was that Kara was not Kara but a woman who would come to be known as Erin Eristov. Erin, unbeknownst to everyone, was not comparable to Reign. She was, as some symptom of events, essentially--unexplainably--not the evil part of Kara Danvers. She did not take anything from Kara. She was simply what Kara's twin might have been had she had one. 

“You can stop staring, Samantha Arias,” Erin announced in a tired Russian accent. 

“K-kara?” Samantha questioned. Maybe Kara was originally from Russia. It could happen. 

“I am not Kara Danvers,” Erin answered and raised to a sitting position. 

The cape fell away, and Sam swallowed. Kara Danvers was annoyingly attractive with her perfect curls and defined arms, but this woman was almost more attractive. It really depended on one's taste, but Sam couldn't help but notice Erin's six pack and huge arms. “I can see that,” she said and forced her gaze to settle on Erin's face, noticing, with a shock, that Erin's hair was shorter than Kara's, halfway between shoulder and chin length. 

“My name is Erin,” Erin said. 

“How do you know?” Sam asked. 

Erin looked taken aback. “What?”

“How do you know?” Sam asked again. 

Erin opened her mouth. She closed it. “Fuck you,” she said and got up. 

“What?” Sam yelled as Erin started to walk away. 

Erin stopped in her tracks, cape wrapped around her, and turned her torso to face Sam. “Fuck. You,” she repeated and started walking again. 

Sam hurried to get up and to follow after Erin. “Wait!” she shouted as she jogged after her. 

Erin purposefully walked more quickly, and Sam huffed but caught up to her. 

“Can we share the cape, Erin?” Sam asked.

“I didn't think you'd want to be so close to me, Samantha,” Erin said, voice and expression neutral. 

“I have nothing against you, Erin,” Sam assured her.

Erin grumbled but stopped and let Samantha huddle with her under the cape. They continued walking in silence. 

~~~

“Erin,” Samantha warned. 

“What?” Erin asked. 

“Stop trying to hold my hand,” she snapped.

“I'm scared,” Erin whispered, but she drew her hand away from Sam's. 

Samantha sighed and reached out, lacing their fingers together. “So, Erin. What's your life been like? How'd you get here?” Samantha asked, trying to move on from the awkwardness of the first impression she left. 

Erin, whose initial steely exterior seemed to be deteriorating fast, replied with an intense amount of vulnerability, “I-I don't know. I know my name and yours. A few languages. Some math and science. Poetry--I know I love that. But it's like I didn't exist before now, like I was just existing, gathering information without a mortal form.”

Sam didn't quite know how to reply to that, but she tried, “Hm, well, you're stuck with me for your first memories. I hope you're okay with that.” 

Erin came to a stop. 

Sam stopped beside her and looked at her. 

Erin looked up at her. 

They looked away from each other and continued on through the snow. 

~~~

“I see a light,” Erin said. She could just make out a singular gleam off in the distance. 

Samantha looked ahead but couldn't see anything. 

“Let me carry you,” Erin said, forfeiting her half of the cape and wrapping it around Sam. 

Sam raised her eyebrows. She could tell that she still had at least some of her powers. Certainly she would know that. “I can fly, too,” Sam declined. 

Erin shook her head. She knew her capabilities. “You're faster at flying than I am. I'm faster at running,” she said, sweeping Sam up into her arms in a bridal carry. 

“What? You know your capabilities?” Sam asked. She figured that Erin would be clueless about her human form, but maybe it was the complete opposite. 

“I know everyone's capabilities,” Erin said, setting off, words swallowed as she ran. 

\---

“Woah,” Sam breathed out as they arrived at what looked like a giant bottomless pit. A light shone far out, too far out for Sam to see the details of. She was nervous, especially when she was relying on the word of the newly birthed but somehow fully grown and wise twin of her best friend's other best friend. Anything could have been out there. 

“That's weird,” Erin whispered, squinting and tilting her head. 

“What?” Sale entertained. It wasn't like she had anything better to do. 

“The light is not on the other side. It's in the middle,” Erin whispered. 

“How can you see that far anyway? Supergirl has x ray vision, not super sight,” Sam asked. 

“Kara and I may share some DNA, but our powers are slightly different. Call it a glitch in the cosmos or whatever, but I'm not merely her a second time. I don't think I'm even completely Kryptonian,” Erin admitted and sighed. She wish she knew the why of anything. 

Sam thought she knew where her life was headed at sixteen. She was sure she was going to raise her kid against her family's wishes and make a name for herself. That all went as planned. What was so not planned were the feelings of sympathy she felt for who could have been a very dangerous woman. She seemed nice right now, but she could have just been playing the long game, getting Sam to lead her to Supergirl so they could have a battle with powers that could have been used to end worlds. “Can you see what's out there?” she asked in an attempt to get things moving quicker. She didn't want to end up in a fight with a titan because they were starving and one of them had to be the meal regardless of the logistics of anything that wasn't kryptonite biting into either of them. 

“I can see that there's an island in the middle. I can't tell anything else,” Erin said. She sighed and bit at her lip. Sam was faster--far faster--at flying.

“Do you want me to take over? I know I'm hungry. You must be starving,” Sam asked. She wondered why neither of them had suggested just running back to civilization, but her curiosity was peaked by the supposed island in the middle of this hole. 

Erin supposed she wouldn't mind letting Sam take over, and she was experiencing a pain in her stomach that she thought matched up with the definition of intense hunger. “Okay,” she answered. Erin let Sam down. 

Sam took the cape and wrapped it gently but snugly around Erin. She swept her up into her arms and set off toward the light. 

As the pair draw closer to the island, they began to feel quite strange. Sam's flight patterns were disrupted, falling up and down like a she was riding a wave. She struggled to even maintain that, feeling as if she were pushing against a great barrier as she continued, putting more and more force behind her flight until she was gritting her teeth so tightly that she was afraid they might crack dspire knowing that wasn't possible. She felt Erin duck her head against her collar bone in an attempt to be unaffected, but both felt the pushing and pulsing of whatever protected the mysterious floating island. 

Suddenly, the pressure stopped. Sam rocketed forward with her extra speed and nearly went out the other side of the “bubble,” back pedaling in the air like she was in one of those old cartoons. She backed up and landed a few feet from the edge, setting Erin down. 

They turned to face the middle of the island together.

**Author's Note:**

> Tune in next chapter for Commiegirl and Sam Arias waking up in the snow!


End file.
